Due to a rampant developer shortage in the U.S. and across the world, companies are struggling to find engineers with the right skills and experience – and without exceeding their IT budgets. This issue is especially severe for tech specializations, where talent pools are even more limited.
The developer shortage is expected to become more critical in coming years, with the U.S. to reach a shortage of 1.2+ million engineers by 2026. Under these circumstances, it’s essential for businesses to pivot how they’re recruiting tech talent. By looking beyond traditional methods, hiring managers can leave behind the current frustration with recruitment and capture exceptional software engineers for their teams.
From our talent specialists at TECLA, we’ll look at seven ways companies can reimagine their recruitment process to more easily attract tech talent.
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7 strategies on how to recruit top tech talent
Recruiting tech talent in today’s market can be tough for businesses – but it doesn’t have to be. These seven strategies can support companies as they look beyond traditional recruitment methods.
1. Go remote
Restricting recruitment to local talent pools is highly limiting, especially in a post-COVID world where candidates usually work from home in some capacity anyways. It’s important to open the hiring process to remote candidates in order to obtain a larger talent pool with the required technical skills.
Remember that going remote doesn’t mean businesses have to sacrifice work quality. Recent reports show that 75% of organizations experienced a boost in productivity since implementing remote teams.
2. Boost job flexibility
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(Source: Harvard Business Review)
Attracting tech candidates isn’t as complicated as it sounds. The vast majority of employees want the same things: flexibility and work-life balance. According to a survey by Harvard Business Review, 80%+ candidates desired more flexible hours, vacation time and work-from-home options.
Notice that the perks companies tend to think will help – such as ping-pong tables and free snacks – fall lowest on the priority list for job seekers. By offering flexible and work-from-home options, hiring managers can unlock a wealth of interested tech candidates.
3. Think regional and/or international
There’s a reason why software development outsourcing is predicted to increase 70% between 2022 and 2023: the talent. There are thousands of software engineers worldwide who may meet businesses’ unique IT requirements.
When companies go remote, they should consider leveraging regional and/or international tech talent pools. For example, choosing nearshore candidates in LATAM can be especially beneficial due to this region’s skilled workforce, time zone proximity and affordable rates.
4. Cut the number of job requirements
Even when faced with the Great Developer Drought, companies haven’t altered their job requirements. While it’s understandable that businesses want engineers who can bring experience to the table, software engineering is an unusual field in that most tech candidates engage in informal learning.
According to Forbes, 87% of developers have taught themselves a new language, framework or tool without taking a formal course. Sometimes by easing up on hard-and-fast requirements (such as degrees and certifications) and focusing on the skills themselves, companies can obtain excellent talent.
Instead of seeing recruitment as a checklist, hiring managers can invest time in screening technical skills or use a recruitment partner like TECLA who can perform specialized skills tests.
5. Focus on retention
At 13.2%, software has the highest turnover rate of all sectors in the U.S. – even retail. It’s no use investing in hiring, only to forget about current employees.
Retention is a key pillar in any talent strategy, but it doesn’t necessarily mean raising salaries. In the case of tech company Paragus, the CEO was able to boost retention by finding out what employees wanted. Many were interested in building their careers, so Paragus built an individualized career ladder for each employee, so they had clear vision into how to get promoted.
Of course, retention strategies may involve a variety of different areas, such as flexible hours, a transparent culture, an employee stock ownership plan and more. Don’t forget to carefully craft a retention plan so that top developers don’t slip out the door.
6. Offer competitive salaries
It’s no surprise that offering higher salaries can appeal to tech candidates. However, throwing money at the problem should never be done blindly.
Companies can be strategic about building competitive salaries especially if they decide to work with international candidates. Because the cost of living is lower in places such as LATAM, businesses can offer appealing salaries to candidates in these regions that are still 30-50% less than local candidates.
Ideally, hiring managers can be smart about creating competitive packages that align with tech candidates’ international locations and the current job market.
7. Expand relationships with recruiting and staffing partners
Many of the recruitment strategies above may be new to businesses. For this reason, companies should rely on recruitment experts to tap into international talent pools, screen their technical skills and offer competitive salaries according to their region.
Businesses can truly get the most out of international talent by hiring specialists with deep understanding of these regions and built-out talent networks. Ultimately, leveraging a relationship with a partner cuts the time to hire, allowing businesses to develop their products faster and service more customers – all at more affordable rates than local talent.
Why recruit tech talent in LATAM?
LATAM is a huge opportunity for recruiting tech talent for several key reasons. For hiring managers considering software development outsourcing, LATAM can offer:
- Expanded talent pools, with more candidate options
- Matching time zones
- High level of English and technical skills
- Lower salaries
- Team diversity
In addition, developers in Latin America are often keen to work for U.S. companies, which can aid in businesses’ retention strategies. For a full overview of the benefits of outsourcing software development to LATAM, be sure to check out our in-depth guide here.
Leverage recruiting and staffing partners like TECLA
Recruiting tech talent doesn’t have to be an arduous process that bleeds your recruiting and hiring budget. By implementing these seven strategies above and working closely with a recruiting partner like TECLA, you can maximize tech talent pools in LATAM and start developing more and better products for your customers.
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